MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The city of Montgomery has seen a decrease in collisions at intersections monitored by red light cameras since 2008, a trend Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange characterized as a sign of changing driving habits.

Strange remarked on the decrease during his weekly address Thursday, when he also took time to note summer police initiatives to help combat crime.

Strange said though the city has been accused of using tickets issued based on cameras to capture more revenue, the goal has always been changing driving habits in the city.

“It was all about and is all about changing behavior,” Strange said.

Strange said collisions at intersections with cameras decreased from 274 in 2008 to 78 in 2012, or about 71.5 percent. Collisions with injuries decreased 62 percent, from 35 to 13, in the same period.

Collisions at the intersection of Taylor and Vaughn roads decreased from 53 to 16, and collisions at the intersection of East South Boulevard and Troy Highway decreased from 43 to 11.

The city has recently added 10 more cameras, and the mayor said he hopes the new locations will also see decreases. Strange said the city has 19 currently.

The Montgomery Police Department will have more officers on the street this summer as the city seeks to reduce crime.

“We are going to have 44 more officers on the street than we did two weeks ago,” Strange said.

Montgomery Police Chief of Operations Ron Cook said the department would have its 16 school resource officers working in the community while public schools were out for the summer.

“They know the children that roam around the area,” Cook said.

Cook said the department will also increase its bicycle patrol officers to 50 and increase the frequency of bike details. Cook added the department would also have details focusing on impaired driving, seat belts and other violations.

“Our goal is to change the driving habits in the city,” he said.

The department plans to launch Good Shepherd, a faith-based initiative that seeks to partner with religious leaders in the precincts in the community, Cook said.

“It lets us get closer to the community,” Cook said. “We are really excited about it.”